


fights with strangers

by kasttronaut



Category: Andromeda Six (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Not Canon Compliant, also a few innuendos but nothing graphic, mentions of blood and a fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24170560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kasttronaut/pseuds/kasttronaut
Summary: My thought process for this was, "What if you could actually punch that asshole in the alley?" and turned into Damon patching my traveler, Io, up.
Relationships: Damon Reznor/Traveler
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	fights with strangers

As she surveyed her work, Io didn’t think what she’d done was that awful. Bash had warned her Nos Vega could be rough, and Damon had almost done worse to the man who’d tried to pick her up at the bar. 

The modded human bastard on the ground before her was different from the man at the bar and yet the same, all bark and no bite, the look of fear in his eyes identical. But this time, it was directed at her. 

June was on her left, Ryona on her right, both of them holding onto an arm each to pull her away from the asshole that had been throwing racial slurs at the good doctor. The last thing she’d heard before throwing a punch was, _"Associating with a moondog makes you just as bad as one.”_

Funnily enough, she remembered little else after that, just a haze of red and brief flashes of pain and the sound of flesh hitting flesh, though not in the pleasant sort of way.

Coming back to herself, she could feel her knuckles were split by the way they ached; she was also pretty sure the bastard had managed to give her a black eye, but as she came down from the adrenaline rush and got a good look at him she saw that he was worse off. His nose was bleeding, hopefully broken, and she winced as she noticed that she’d also managed to tear his shirt. 

“You fucking crazy bitch!” 

Annnnnd she didn’t feel bad anymore. She jerked against the hold her friends had on her, her teeth bared at the man, and that was all it took for him to scramble back the way his ‘friend’ had already run.

June’s hand waving in front of her tore her attention back to him, and she realized that he and Ryona had let her go. Both of them were looking at her with a mixture of surprise and concern, but it was Ryona that spoke as she gently grabbed her hands to take a cursory look over them.

“Are you alright? Tell me if it hurts to bend-”

“Just a little blood, Ry, nothing I can’t handle.” It was a lie - her knuckles were split and bleeding and her hands ached and would probably swell, and all three of them knew it, but the outburst had shaken the doctor and the gunslinger enough that they would let it slide - for now. Io withdrew her hands a little faster than she needed to, snapping her head to look at June so she could get the attention off of herself. “Where’d you come from? Not that I don’t appreciate the save, but did something happen?”

Her deflection was obvious, but like the saint he was, he went with it and nodded. “I’d say two fist fights for the crew in one night is bad luck, but it seems that’s the only sort of luck we have these days. We need your help inside, Ryona. It’s Ayame.”

Ryona threw him an alarmed look, but before she hurried back into the club she frowned at Io, this one decidedly more serious than the exasperated look she’d thrown Bash’s way at the gambling table.

“Please don’t do that again. I’m quite capable of defending myself, and it’s dangerous to get in fights with strangers, particularly in the streets of Nos Vega.” 

Sitting by while some bastard harassed her friend? She couldn’t remember anything about how she’d been before - although, she apparently knew how to throw a solid punch - but the woman she was now wouldn’t stand for it. 

So she simply shrugged and said, “Can’t promise that, doc.”

Ryona’s nose scrunched, but she elected to say nothing, instead choosing to hurry inside to find Aya.

Io went to follow her in, hoping that her favorite pilot was okay, but June stopped her with a hand on her arm. 

“Are you sure you’re okay, Io?” He was looking at her hands with a crease in his brow, his own fidgeting as if he wanted to patch her up himself now that Ryona had left. Knowing June, he wouldn’t leave her alone until he made sure she’d be okay and taken care of. That brought a smile to her face; the gunman had a soft soul, and she appreciated it, but she didn’t want him to worry unnecessarily, and he’d already done enough fretting over her. 

“I’m tougher than I look, Junebug, promise. Go make sure whoever Aya beat up doesn’t bother her again and I’ll get one of the other three to help me out, huh?” 

“If you’re sure.” June didn’t sound like he approved of that at all, probably figuring that if she could find trouble while with Ryona she could _definitely_ find more - and potentially worse- trouble on her own. He was right, but she just threw him a tiny salute before walking inside. He followed with a deep sigh, splitting for the storage room when she went for the bar.

Cal must have gone elsewhere - she couldn’t sense any lingering emotional repression, and the telltale gold and navy of his uniform was absent from all of the barstools. Bash would most likely still be gambling in the back room, but she figured Oppo wouldn’t be thrilled if she got blood on the cards or dripped a trail of it along the floor. 

That left her with her only other option, who was sitting at the bar right where she’d left him previously and nursing another one of the disgusting drinks that he liked so much. 

Clad entirely in black, Damon stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the colorful crowd of the Arc, but that didn’t seem to bother him. His shoulders were loose and he looked _bored_ , of all things, which stunned her. There were so many people to see, so many languages to hear, so many things to do just in this building-

And in the way he always did when she was watching him, he turned to lock eyes with her, his gaze hostile and his lip curled before he realized it was just her and not someone looking for a fight. He raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her, and as she made her way over she shrugged and held up the backs of her hands in explanation.

“Aya also got in a fight, before you ask where Ryona is, and based on how worried June was she’s probably worse off than I am. Could you help me out?”

Damon gave her a deadpan look. “Are you broken?”

“...No?”

He sighed, but still ended up standing and nodding at the bartender that he was done with his glass. “Remember when I said I wasn’t going to be your knight in shining armor every time you needed rescuing?”

Io grinned, not cowed in the least. “I mean, if we want to get technical with it, this isn’t you _rescuing_ me, Damon. You’re just patching me up after a fight, you know?”

“And you couldn’t have waited until Ryona was finished with Ayame?” He started moving, jerking his head at her to follow him. 

She stuck as close to him as she could, aware of the press of the crowd around them. “I could’ve, but I’m _your_ responsibility now, remember? Besides, it’ll be quicker if you do.”

“What happened to ‘I can look after myself’?” Damon ushered her into the bathroom, one icy glare from him discouraging anyone from following them in for at least a few minutes. 

Io laughed at that, turning on one of the faucets so she could at least rinse the blood off her hands if Damon was going to complain until she made herself scarce. She grit her teeth at the ache as she tried to move her fingers; Ryona was going to kill her later. “Fair point, I guess. Are you going to help me for real, though, or should I just go find our lovely doctor anyway?”

“Damn, could you be any more impatient?” Rustling came from his direction, and she turned to see-

“You just- you just carry gauze and alcohol wipes on you?” Io figured she sounded maybe a bit too surprised, but of all the things she’d been expecting him to have on him on a regular basis, that hadn’t been it. Knives, maybe even a bit of poison or whatever else he liked to use to do his job - certainly. She’d think that June, loveable worrywart that he was, would be the one to have bandages and antiseptic on him.

Damon snorted. “Mercenary isn’t a job that comes with health insurance, newbie. What do you think we did before Ryona joined up?” 

“Cried about it to Cal, probably.”

Damon scoffed, and she caught a murmured _cheeky_ as he took her hand in his to start cleaning the wounds. She hissed at the sting of the alcohol, but he didn’t seem to care. He was meticulous, careful, but not necessarily gentle, and she wasn’t surprised. 

She watched his face out of the corner of her eye as he worked, enjoying the focus in his eyes and how blue they were. She couldn’t remember whether she’d ever seen an ocean or not, but if she had she was sure it would pale in comparison. But the two were equally dangerous, she decided. She could drown in one just as easily as the other. 

And the fact that those eyes were focused on her… Wait. 

“You’re staring again, princess.” 

She grinned at being inevitably caught again and shrugged nonchalantly. “Is that a complaint, Damon? I can stop if it makes you uncomfortable.” 

His lips curled into a smirk, but he didn’t respond as he finished with her first hand, moving onto the next and repeating the process. She was content to let him finish in silence, trying to figure out how many knives he could feasibly keep on his person at one time while she waited. 

And then he pulled away, washed his hands, and stowed the first-aid supplies in that ever-mysterious coat of his.

“What, done already? You don’t want to kiss it better?” Io pushed off the wall with a flourish and offered him her hands in jest, but he actually took them in his and brought them up to his lips. She paused. Was he going to- 

The way he was holding her meant the bottom half of his face was covered, but she knew he was smirking when his eyes crinkled. “Given the choice, sweetheart, it’s definitely not your _knuckles_ that I’d like to kiss.” 

Io’s stomach dipped, but she couldn’t help but laugh, which had him dropping her hands in surprise. He really should’ve known it would take more than innuendos to fluster her; he’d been trying since June had picked her up, and still had yet to get a single blush. 

“Promises, promises, Day, none of which you’ve followed up on. Though if we are going to follow up on whatever _this_ is,” she gestured vaguely between them, “I can assure you it’s not going to be happening in Oppo’s bathroom.” She winked at him and then winced, remembering her black eye too late. 

Damon’s smirk this time was wicked. 

“I’ll keep that in mind for later, newbie.” Her stomach dipped again at the promise that was laced through his words. “But you might wanna go find some ice for that shiner before we do anything, huh? We need to get back to the ship regardless, so I’ll go grab Cal and Bash and find the other three while you take care of yourself.”

Io deflated a little, but nodded in agreement. “Aye aye, boss.”

They walked out of the bathroom together, Io throwing a quick ‘sorry!’ to the head of the line that had formed before splitting off from Damon to search for a bowl of ice. 

On Io’s way behind the bar, a shock of red hair caught her eye. 

_Follow him_ , her instincts whispered. _Follow him._

So, not one to second-guess herself, she did.


End file.
